


You're So Good To Me (PREVIEW)

by gavialis



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, How Do I Use Tags, Idk whatever, M/M, Playlist, Smut, also all the batboys are adopted so they use the name "wayne", have fun reading, i love my daddy... my superhero..., oh also tim is half american half chinese and conner is arab-kryptonian (iraqi specifically), sorry if this sucks dick i'm trying out this whole fanfiction thing, this is also kinda emo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:55:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22609642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gavialis/pseuds/gavialis
Summary: Tim Wayne is falling for his best friend, but he'd prefer not to break any bones.
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Wally West, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Cassie Sandsmark/Kara Zor-El, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Kudos: 14





	1. Timeline / Backstory

_Tim Drake (Wayne)'s years are used to indicate the passing of time._

**YEAR TWO**  
Dick is adopted by Bruce at eight years old after his parents die during a Flying Graysons show.  
Barbara, after saving Batman at just seven years old, is brought back to the Batcave and is trained to become the first Batgirl. Along with Dick, she is one of the oldest members of the team other than Batman. 

**YEAR FIVE**  
Conner is forced to leave his birth country, Iraq, at six years old after civil war breaks out. His mother dies while bringing him to safety, so Clark ends up saving him and brings him to his farmhouse in Kansas.

 **YEAR EIGHT**  
Cassandra joins the team after escaping from the League of Assassins, being adopted by Bruce not too long after Barbara turns fourteen. Barbara takes her under her wing (haha get it?) and teaches her ASL to communicate. She eventually becomes Black Bat.  
Barbara develops a crush on Dick at fourteen, and he eventually develops one on her. They do not act upon these feelings.

 **YEAR NINE**  
Tim is adopted by Bruce after his parents die in a horrible house fire and when he deducts that Dick Grayson is Robin.  
Stephanie joins the team at nine years old and becomes Spoiler after training with Cassandra and Barbara.  
Stephanie also teaches Cassandra her own language of symbols in case she ever gets overwhelmed with sign language. Teaching her this is eventually one of the things that make Cassandra attached to her.  
\- Heart: love, home  
\- Circle: good, safety, security, can also mean yes  
\- X: bad, not good, can also mean no  
\- Plus or cross: help  
\- Star: confusion  
\- Square: anger  
\- S: sorry  
\- Two parallel lines: sadness

 **YEAR TEN**  
Tim goes into intensive training, first with Alfred and then Bruce.

 **YEAR ELEVEN**  
Jason joins the team, being adopted by Bruce at fifteen years old. He begins training as well, often training with Tim and joking around.

 **YEAR TWELVE**  
Bruce and Dick get into more arguments about going on patrol and who has the initiative on more personal missions. Bruce eventually suggests that he should step down and Barbara takes his side, making Dick feel betrayed and hurt. He leaves for Blüdhaven at eighteen years old and becomes Nightwing, cursing Barbara out and ignoring her when she tries to reconcile with him.  
The Titans group is proposed by Tim to Bruce to help combat villains in a more orderly fashion (and also to have some more friends, but he didn’t tell Bruce this).  
Some of the first members elected this year are Starfire, Raven at fifteen years old, and Cassie at fourteen years old.  
Jason starts training at sixteen years old to become the next Robin, and Dick, after coming to an agreement with Bruce, comes back often to train Jason, Tim, and the Titans, which Bruce led at the time. Cassandra and Barbara often trained them this year as well.  
After Dick continually returns to Wayne Manor, the tension between him and Barbara only grows stronger as Barbara becomes more resentful of his new “I need to do this on my own” personality. They get into arguments often about training Jason, Tim, and the team, and Barbara even threatens to quit at one point. To solve this, Bruce makes Dick visit less.  
Barbara moves away from Wayne Manor and gets an apartment not far from Gotham. She is able to visit often and does so frequently the next couple of years.  
Conner and Clark move to Metropolis after Clark gets a job there at the Daily Planet.  
Closer to the end of the year, Bruce and Jason are on patrol in Blüdhaven with the extremely bitter Dick when they hear Dick’s in-ear comm get crushed and get the wind knocked out of him. They check his internal cameras and discover that they, too, have been destroyed. They can’t find him anywhere in the city and presume him to be missing in action or worse, dead after months of searching.

 **YEAR THIRTEEN**  
New Titans members:  
\- Stephanie at thirteen years old (she and Tim start dating soon after she joins)  
\- Cyborg at sixteen after dropping out, he is elected as leader by the team  
\- Conner at fourteen  
\- Megan at fourteen (her and Conner start dating)  
\- Starfire leaves the team due to Dick’s disappearance  
During a particularly tense mission, Conner gets captured by Cadmus and becomes a test subject for two months, his mind being read constantly. During this testing period, he loses his flight ability due to brain damage and ends up only being able to jump unnaturally high. He escapes eventually, but the lab had already collected enough data to make a clone of Conner and patches that would allow Conner’s DNA to turn fully Kryptonian. Lex Luthor offers him these a month after he escapes, but he refuses and manages to escape from Luthor’s clutches. He still has nightmares about it and afterward, when he is still dating Megan, refuses to be mind read by her, so she gives up mind reading the team altogether.  
When Jason is seventeen years old, he and Bruce go on patrol and he is kidnapped, all his devices and weapons taken from him. He is gone for six months until suddenly, halfway through the year, the Batcave monitors get hacked to show a video feed of Jason, beaten to a pulp and bloodied with a scar of the letter J healing on his face. Though the room in question where Jason lies is mostly dark, Bruce and Tim are able to figure out his location and Bruce speeds there, the Joker beating Jason all the while and leaving a final surprise for him- a bomb, which ticks down to zero just before Jason can open the door. Bruce arrives just in time to see the building blow and he goes into shock, Tim as well watching it all unfold on the monitor. Bruce miraculously finds Jason’s body and speeds him to the Batcave, placing him on one of the medbay tables, hoping and praying for a miracle, but Jason is already dead, his pulse flatlining.  
Stephanie and Tim end up violently severing their relationship because of Jason’s death, making Tim practically unable to commit due to mourning and the responsibility of the team weighing on the both of them.

 **YEAR FOURTEEN**  
New Titans members:  
\- Wally at fourteen years old  
\- Garfield at thirteen years old  
Megan becomes distant and Conner gains a new interest in Tim, ending up in their split.

 **YEAR FIFTEEN**  
Tim becomes the new leader of the Titans and under his detective skills, they end up capturing more criminals than they ever expected to.  
Tim gets a crush on Conner, confuses himself, and sends himself spiraling into deeply internalized homophobia due to the rude remarks at school that he, as soon as he develops a crush on a boy, takes as personal offenses and turns them inwards, making him bitter and resentful. Team members get used to his sudden and angry outbursts though he tries his best to control them.  
Stephanie leaves the team and goes with her new girlfriend Cassandra to live at her dad’s place in Opal City. 

**YEAR SIXTEEN**  
The current year of this story. Jason is dead, Dick is presumed MIA or dead, and Barbara, Stephanie, and Cassandra are living away from Wayne Manor. Tim is still confused about Conner but is learning to channel his anger into crime-fighting.


	2. Just A Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman has a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _song: char by crystal castles_   
>  [see the playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5K83s5bhbk8RdxYsO0i9QUv0Wgd17gn)

Bruce awoke with a start, gasping for air and sitting up straight as he tried to control his breathing. 

“Alfred,” he yelled raggedly, “Please hurry, goddamnit!” 

He started to cough just as the door to his bedroom swung open, pooling light into the otherwise darkened space. Alfred supported him, holding on tightly to his body just as his eyelids fluttered and he blacked out. 

His eyes slowly glazed open to stare at the ceiling and then at the opened door where Alfred stood, holding a tray with a bone china cup resting on it. 

“How long was I out?”

“Two minutes, significantly longer than the last time.”

“What time is it?”

Alfred paused to pull a small golden pocket watch out of his lapel.

“It is precisely 1:34 AM.”

Bruce rubbed his eyes.

“Chamomile, sir?”

“Always appreciated.” 

Alfred walked over to hand him the bone china cup and turned to walk away. Before he did, however, he stopped in the doorway for a moment.

“Master Bruce, you should go to the doctor. I am… concerned about your current physical health.”

“I haven’t been out in a while, Alfred.”

“I was merely suggesting the idea. Perhaps you can sleep on it?”

Bruce paused. “Perhaps.”

“Goodnight, Master Bruce.”

“Goodnight, Alfred.”


	3. Heaven-Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim Wayne takes a ride (not the kind you're thinking about).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _song: rpg by kill bill the rapper ft. rav_   
>  [see the playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5K83s5bhbk8RdxYsO0i9QUv0Wgd17gn)

Sparks flew everywhere as Tim Wayne finished the final two spots of welding needed to whip his bike back into shape. He lifted the helmet off his head that was used to keep his face safe and wiped off the droplets of sweat on his forehead. Just then, his phone buzzed. 

_Text from ‘Conner’ at 3:02 AM:_

You wanna go on a joyride? Unless, of course, you haven’t fixed your bike. 

T: why are you up at 3 am, dumbass

C: The better question is why you are. 

T: shut up smartass

C: Why do you consistently call me something with “ass” at the end?

T: because i can, wiseass

C: Anyways... are you going to take up my offer or not? 

T: yeah i fixed my bike, i’ll go 

C: Usual spot?

T: yeah

Tim put his phone back into his pocket as he walked to the other side of the worktable and opened the mini-fridge. He pulled out one of the pre-made sandwiches that Victor left him on his last visit, one with tomato sauce, avocado, and mozzarella. An odd combination, but one that Victor had learned was Tim’s favorite. Tim smiled to himself, remembering this as he slung his backpack on and placed the sandwich inside. 

He swung one leg over his bike, simultaneously pulling a bomber jacket on, and called out “Batcave control, Tim Wayne. Open side door.” The Batcave responded with “Welcome back, Mr. Wayne. Side door opening.” He put his helmet on and revved up the bike. He raced down the platform just as the door shot open and welcomed him to the outside world. He sped up past Wayne Manor and inhaled deeply, lifting his face shield so the cool air of the early morning met him full blast. This is what he lived for, to be on his bike this late, to feel the wind on his face. It was calming, almost therapeutic for him. He continued along the main roads of Gotham on the long trip to his and Conner’s predetermined meeting spot in the park. 

As he drove, he couldn’t help his thoughts from wandering to his unfortunate crush. He called it “unfortunate” simply because he didn’t want to accept it, he couldn’t. Having a crush on a guy, especially his best friend of a few years was just… alien to him. No matter how many articles or blog posts he read about liking someone of the same sex, he just couldn’t wrap his head around the idea. _There’s no way,_ he thought, shaking the rest of his wandering thoughts away. 

He finally made it to the meeting spot, a fountain in the center of the park that was quite large and old in style, allowing enough space at the base for Tim to sit and park his bike as he waited for Conner Kent to arrive. 

A few minutes later, Conner pulled up on his own bike, one more traditional than Tim’s sleek design, but that made up for it with its size. Tim couldn’t help but stare as Conner took his helmet off and sat down next to him. 

“How are you doing?” Conner said with a slight smile, tilting his head.

“Uhh, yeah, I’m fine…” Tim looked away and scratched the back of his neck.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’ve just been getting less sleep recently.”

“Are you sure nothing’s going on?”

“Yes, dude, I’m fine. I’m an insomniac, you know this.”

“Especially when you’re stressed.”

Tim turned to look up at Conner, seeing his forehead crinkle like it always did when he was concerned.

“Don’t worry about me, Conner. I’m fine.”

“I just want to know how my team leader is doing.”

Tim stood up. “Your team leader or your best friend?”

Conner stood up to add “And my best friend, you dolt.”

Tim grinned. “That’s more like it. C’mon, let’s drive.”

Conner returned the grin as they both climbed on their motorcycles and sped out of the park. They got to the main roads and were side by side as they reached a red stoplight. Tim stopped suddenly, as did Conner, flipping his face shield up to say, “What do you wanna do?” Tim flipped up his own face shield and responded with “Race you when the light goes green.” Conner just smiled and revved his engine. As soon as the light changed, they were already gone, going way over the speed limit but having fun regardless. 

They came back to the park a few hours later sweaty and tired. They both flopped down onto a nearby bench after parking their bikes. They had touched down on the highest part of the park, high enough that one could see the sky and the stretch of the ocean beyond Gotham. The sun was beginning to rise with pink and orange hues painting the sky around it. 

Conner peeled off his helmet. “Well, that was fun.”

Tim grinned. “Sure was.”

They sat in contemplated silence for a moment, looking at the sky until Tim’s wrist comm beeped.

“Oh shit, oh fuck. It’s my dad. Oh fuck, he’s gonna wonder where I am.”

“Dude, it’s okay, I’ll be as silent as possible. Just calm down and answer it.”

“Alright, alright.”

He pressed the accept call button on his comm.

_Tim. Where are you right now? I’m supposed to be keeping tabs on you. I shouldn’t have to remind you._

“I’m sorry. I, uh… I’ll be there.”

_Okay, but where are you? Seriously, Tim?_

“In the park.”

_Why are you there at 4 AM?_

“I couldn’t sleep so I drove out there.”

_Jesus, okay. Just come back._

“Okay.”

The call ended, and Tim flopped back down onto the bench with a sigh.

“Guess you gotta go back, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, Conner.”

“Ok, just making sure. See you ‘round, bro.” 

They shared their secret handshake and then Conner was gone, speeding off into the horizon.


	4. Lady Fortuna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturdays Are For The Girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _song: girls night out by charli xcx_   
>  [see the playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5K83s5bhbk8RdxYsO0i9QUv0Wgd17gn)

Raven sat cross-legged on her bed, practicing tarot, flicking her hand to shuffle and turn the cards. Cassie sat across from her, keeping her focus on her phone and typing furiously. Raven seemed to finally find a single card as she floated it over to Cassie so it would lay on top of her phone.   
“Hey, I’m busy! Why did you lay the Moon card on my phone?”

“You’re distracted. There are too many things moving in your head.”

“Fuck, are you a clairvoyant or some shit?”

Cassie flicked the card towards Raven, which made it about halfway to her before it fell onto the carpeted floor. Raven sighed and made it float back up to her.

“Cass?”

Cassie didn’t look up as she responded “Huh?”

“Who are you texting so rapidly?”

“Nobody.”

“Cassandra.”

In a fit of protest, Cassie put her phone face-down in her lap.

“What?”

“Who is it?”

“I already said, nobody.”

“Cassandra.”

“Fine, fine. It’s Kara.”

“Zor-El? Conner’s cousin? Interesting.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Cassie almost seemed to be blushing before her phone buzzed again. 

“Hey, Rav. It’s Tim.”

“What’s going on?”

“He wants us at the base immediately. Everyone except… Conner? What the hell?”

“That’s odd.”

“Yeah, no shit. I guess we should get going, though.”


	5. Something To Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Titans have a meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _song: rose quartz by toro y moi_   
>  [see the playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5K83s5bhbk8RdxYsO0i9QUv0Wgd17gn)

The Lair, evidently named by Garfield, was an underground facility designed by both Tim and Bruce for Teen Titans use exclusively. It was built to be both simple yet ergonomic and technical. 

That ended up being the place where Tim turned back and forth in his swivel chair located in the main quarters whilst looking at his fellow Teen Titans members, which included Cassie, Raven, Garfield, Megan, Victor, Wally, and Conner (absent by Tim's orders).

“You’re going to get dizzy,” Megan said as she observed Tim with feigned curiosity. Victor put a hand on the chair to stop it. “Hey, Tim… mind telling us what we’re doing here?” 

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Tim waved his hand. The group was silent as he fiddled with his wrist comm.

“I know this might not be very important… but…”

He grew silent. He didn’t know if this was a good idea, but really, was anything he did really a good idea?

“I think I’m gay.”

Victor was the first to speak.

“Tim, you know… it’s really not that big of a deal. I still love you, as a bro, of course. Platonically.”

Wally furrowed his brow. “Is this why you didn’t invite Conner?”

“Ooh, you have a crush, you big gay nerd,” Cassie retorted with a laugh.

Garfield laughed and started saying in singsong “Tim has a crush on Conner!”

“Guys,” Tim said, “do you have a fucking death wish?”

They grew silent again.

“This isn’t a joking matter,” he said, “I’ve liked women before, but now I have a crush on a guy? It doesn’t make any fucking sense. I thought you guys could help me, not make fun of me,” he snapped.

Raven floated up to him quietly.

“If it helps,” she said, “I’ve dealt with a lot of pressing questions about sexuality. I completely understand that it’s confusing. It’s best to just accept that you like the people you like.”

“And,” Megan joined in, “If you feel like identifying with something, you could possibly be bi.”

Tim tilted his head. “Bi?”

“Bisexual. You know. Liking both sexes.”

“Huh. I guess I never… huh.” 

Cassie stepped up. “Look. I know what it’s like too. It took me a long time to figure out that I liked women exclusively. Just know I’ll be here to help.”

“Me too,” Viktor said.

“Even though I don’t know what you’re going through as far as the whole sexuality thing goes, I will, too,” Wally said.

Everyone turned to look at Garfield.

“Fine… I guess I’ll help too,” Garfield said, rolling his eyes sarcastically and grinning.

Tim laughed. “Thank you, guys. I love you all.”

“Group hug?” Garfield suggested.

“Group hug,” Viktor said as they all crowded around Tim to give him a bone-crushing yet pleasantly familial group hug.


	6. I Didn't Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fight breaks out. Both father and son are left estranged in their own world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _song: three bedrooms in a good neighborhood by death grips_   
>  [see the playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5K83s5bhbk8RdxYsO0i9QUv0Wgd17gn)
> 
> **content warning:** f slur

All was quiet in Wayne Manor until the phone rang, snapping Bruce out of his trance of reading, and he, unfortunately, knew who was on the other end.

“Bruce Wayne, who is this?”

“Louis Grieve High School. Tim Wayne is absent at the moment. Is there a reason for this?” 

“No, he should be there. I’ll make sure he’s attending,” Bruce said tiredly.

Bruce hung up and immediately went over to the monitor to check the security cams, and sure enough, there was Tim, doing pull-ups on a bar inside the designated workout area that they had made out of one of the extra living rooms. Skipping school was a habit that Bruce hoped Tim would get rid of, but it had only gotten worse this year. As soon as Bruce appeared in the doorway, Tim dropped onto the mat below him and sighed. 

“I thought you were better than this, Tim.”

“I’m busy.”

“Are you kidding me? I am paying for you to go to school.”

Tim began to chalk his hands. “I’m not in the mood for this conversation again.”

“Oh, really? Is there something going on that I should know about?”

He walked over to the uneven bars and jumped onto the lowest one, swinging a few times experimentally before answering “No.”

“Tim.”

He swung a few times again. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Fine. Give me the silent treatment.”

Tim dropped off the bar and walked up to Bruce. His eyes flashed with malice.

“Just because I don’t want to disclose something with you does not mean you get to pity me into telling you.”

“I honestly don’t see what the big deal is,” Bruce retorted, his voice rising slightly in volume. “It’s been a year and a half of this bullshit, Tim, and I don’t know how much more of it I can tolerate!”

“You wouldn’t understand anyway!” Tim yelled. “Besides my own problems, I’ve wanted to leave school since the first day. You wanna know why, _Bruce_?”

Bruce crossed his arms.

“Most of my classmates look at me like I’m a piece of meat to chew on. They degrade me, they see me as nothing. They call me a fucking pussy, cunt face, _faggot_ ,” he spat, “and the worst part is I have to endure. I can’t fight back. If I did, they’d find out who I am, and I can’t let that happen. So, I do nothing. I am powerless there.”

Tim’s anger seemed to dissolve after those last few words, reverting back to apathy. He walked back over to the bars, re-chalked his hands silently and methodically, and swung again. 

Bruce said nothing.


	7. Apathy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matters of the heart are discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _song: walk on by by thundercat_   
>  [see the playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5K83s5bhbk8RdxYsO0i9QUv0Wgd17gn)

For four days, Tim stayed in the workout area constantly, only stopping to eat and drink in small increments. When night fell, he slept on the mats. Ever since last year, all he thought about was Conner. His eyes shaded with long eyelashes, his lips, his hands, God, even his fucking chest. He dreamed about Conner, about kissing him, running his hands through his dark hair. All these things he wanted to touch. To taint. Really, it was Conner’s fault for being so damn _pretty_.

During the fifth day of this slump, Cassie came to visit.

As soon as she walked in, Tim’s eyes softened a little before he said “Cass? What are you doing here?” 

She smiled. “What do you think, pal? I came to see you.” Her face flashed concern as she looked him up and down. “You look tired and a little malnourished. Bruce told me there was-“

Tim cut her off. “Oh, so Bruce sent you here. Okay.”

“Hey, I came of my own free will, jeez. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t check up on you?”

The room was silent for a moment.

“You seem angrier than usual. Is this about Conner?”

Tim stopped stacking weights to sigh. “I wish it wasn’t.”

“Is this why you’ve been skipping school, too? You’ve never done it this much before. Maybe you’re less of a nerd than I originally thought.”

Tim managed to let out a weak chuckle and turned to face Cassie. “Cass… I…”

“The worst part is that I don’t know who I am. I don’t know if I’m gay or bi or straight, I don’t know. I wish all of this could be easier.”

He stared at the floor. The room seemed to grow larger in its absence of sound.

“All I know- all I know is that I like Conner. I like him so much and I’ve been pushing it away, I’ve denied it, but I can’t do that anymore.”

A tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away, ashamed of himself. “Fuck, just saying this…”

Cassie, immediately seeing what was wrong, walked to him and scooped him up in her arms, not minding that his small sobs were covered in her shoulder. Neither of them said anything for a while until Tim pulled away from Cassie and allowed her to brush away the stray tears left on his cheeks. 

“Tim. I’ve known you for years. You’ve been in situations that are astronomically tolling on both the mind and body. Do you know what you did? You stuck through them. I know you can stick through this too. I believe in you.”

Tim managed to hoarsely say “I love you, Cass.”

“Love you too, Tim.” She kissed his cheek and stepped back with a fond look in her eyes. “You should come over to my place. Gar was planning a sleepover for a few of us but he wasn’t sure if you’d come.” 

“Let me change first.”

Cassie grinned. “That’s the Tim I know.”


	8. Tethered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _song: lava lamp by thundercat_   
>  [see the playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5K83s5bhbk8RdxYsO0i9QUv0Wgd17gn)

Tim knew Bruce wouldn’t really be happy with him going to Cassie’s, but he didn’t care. He had needed to get out of the house. 

Once Cassie had left Themyscira for Earth, she had to rely on herself and her own skills. When she joined the Titans at 14, she slept in the Base so often that she was the first one to get her own room there. She eventually got a job, coincidentally lying about her age, and started saving up funds, so much so that she ended up being able to rent an apartment at 18. She took tons of other odd jobs to pay for rent and food until, under Tim’s appraisal, Bruce offered her a job at Wayne Enterprises. 

Tim walked up to Cassie’s place alone, leaving Cassie to lock her car. He knocked on the door and was greeted by Garfield and Victor, who both hugged him tightly. “I’m glad you’re better, bro,” Victor said as they all walked towards the kitchen. Tim dropped his backpack on a nearby chair and went to raid the fridge, responding with “I’m just glad Cass managed to get me out of the house.” He ended up settling on a plastic container of slightly mushy raspberries and closed the door. Just then, Megan walked in and ran up to give him a hug. “God, I’m so glad you’re ok, Tim,” she said over his shoulder, “I thought you had died. You didn’t answer any of our texts.”

“Yeah, who else would we make fun of shitty movies with?” Garfield said through a mouthful of popcorn in a plastic bowl that he balanced between his legs as he sat on the counter. Megan finally gave Tim some space so he could munch on his raspberries, but he was glad his friends still cared about him. 

“Gar, how many times do I have to tell you? Get off the counter,” Cassie said as she walked in, spinning her keys. “I always have to wipe off your dirty footprints. Oh, and by the way, y’all, Raven’s sick, Conner’s busy, and Wally’s out on the field, so they can’t come.” 

“Damn,” Garfield said, hopping off of the counter, “I really thought I’d have a chance with Rav tonight.”

Victor clapped him on the shoulder. “Only if we play Truth or Dare, which you should know by now is banned. Teen Titans law, man.”

“Fuck, fucking Teen Titans law,” Garfield mumbled.

“Anyways,” Cassie said, “should we go with a classic tonight? The Shining?”

“Spy Kids fucking 3, that’s a classic,” Garfield said as he jumped over the leg of the couch and settled onto the cushions.

“Definitely not a classic,” Megan said. Tim cracked a smile.

“Oh come on, The Dinkster is in it,” Victor said as he found his own spot on the couch.

“What’s that?”

Victor looked at Megan incredulously, then looked up at Tim behind him. “She seriously doesn’t know?”

“You know,” Tim said, sitting down and doing his best impression, “Somebody ring The Dinkster?” 

The group bust out into laughter at this, Garfield chuckling the hardest, saying “He does it so well.”

“Sounds funny,” Megan said, “but The Spy Next Door is worse. It’s a better movie to criticize.”

“The one where Jackie Chan is a babysitter? Oh hell yeah,” Cassie said, popping the CD in before anyone else could interject.

They really didn’t complain, though, as it was a pretty bad movie that they all laughed over.

Later that night, Tim got a call on his wrist comm.

_Where are you?_

“I’m at Cass’ for a sleepover. I’m safe.”

_Come back home._

“Please, dad, it’s Saturday. Plus I really needed to get out of the house.”

_Fine. Just stay safe, ok?_

“I will, don’t worry.”

_Sleep well, Tim._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am releasing these first eight chapters as a sort of trial period. as a quick favor, please tell me what you like / what can be improved. i promise i will be releasing the full version soon, but i would prefer to finish the whole story first and release it all at once rather than trying to work on it sequentially. that way, you guys don’t have to wait for new chapters and i don’t have to rush. thanks for being interested so far and i wish you the best :)


End file.
